Pirates Begin BIG EAST Title Run Friday

CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. - The Seton Hall men's golf team will return to action this weekend when it begins play at the 2019 BIG EAST Championship at Callawassie Island Golf Club, April 26-28.

Seton Hall is ranked second in the Golfstat team standings. The Pirates have enjoyed one of their best years in program history. In 10 events, the Pirates have placed sixth or better seven times, and their 291.48 stroke average entering the Championship weekend is the second-lowest single-year average in school history.

Seniors Chris Yeom (Flushing, N.Y.) and Gen Nagai (Mandaue Cebu City, Philippines) currently rank third and fourth, respectively, in scoring average in the BIG EAST.

Tournament Details:
2019 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Okatie, S.C.
Course: Callawassie Island Golf Club (Dogwood & Magnolia Courses)
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,166 yards
Dates: April 26-28, 2018

Championship Format:
Nine team, 54-hole, stroke play Championship. Teams compete in groups of three. The event is conducted over four days with each team's five members playing a practice round of 18 holes on day one, one 18-hole round on days two, three and four.

The team winner will earn the BIG EAST's automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Championship field. Should the individual champion not be a member of the winning team, he will also earn a spot to the NCAA Championship.

The Course:
The club features three nine-hole courses. The competition will play the first nine holes on the Dogwood Course and the second nine on the Magnolia Course. Designing Callawassie Island's award-winning championship 27-hole course, Tom Fazio took advantage of the island's natural beauty to create a juxtaposition of visual drama and superb playability. Magnificent live oaks and magnolias, as well as freshwater ponds and the surrounding saltwater marsh, come into play on most holes. Inspiring vistas and abundant wildlife make nature part of the golf experience.

The Field:
For the BIG EAST Championship, the field is limited to only the nine men's golf teams of the conference. This includes (in order of Golfstat ranking): Marquette, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Butler, Xavier, DePaul, St. John's, Creighton and Villanova.

The Seton Hall Lineup:

Chris Yeom, Senior
Gen Nagai, Senior
Gregor Tait, Sophomore
Andres Acevedo, Sophomore
Deven Ramachandran, Freshman

Substitution: Peter Tyler Po, Freshman

Last Time Out:
Sophomore Gregor Tait (Martlesham Heath, England) shot an even-par, 71, in the final round to lift the Pirates to a fifth place team finish at the 2019 Rutherford Intercollegiate on April 14. Tait finished tied for 28th place with his second straight even-par, 71, in round three. For the tournament, he was 7-over-par with a 78-71-71-220.

The top Pirate for the tournament was Chris Yeom. The senior shot a 2-over-par, 73, on Sunday to finish in 16th place among 78 individual golfers. For the three-round event, he was 4-over-par with a 73-71-73-217. Yeom finished nine strokes behind the individual champion, Connecticut's Drake Hull.

As a team, the Pirates turned in another strong round on Sunday. The Hall fired a 6-over-par, 290, to move up one final spot in the standings to a fifth place finish. For the tournament, the Pirates finished with a 21-over-par, 295-288-290-873. They finished 18 strokes behind the team champion, Penn State. Seton Hall soundly defeated its lone BIG EAST competition. Georgetown finished in 12th place, 22 strokes behind the Pirates.

Last Time at the BIG EAST Championship:
Chris Yeom fired a team-best 1-under-par, 71, in the final round and finished the 2018 BIG EAST Championship tied as the tournament runner-up. As a team, the Pirates finished fourth, despite savings its best round for last.

Yeom capped a remarkable junior year in impressive fashion, using four birdies to fuel his final BIG EAST round. He had only one blemish, a bogey on hole No. 13, over his last 14 holes of the round. Yeom tied for second place with Marquette's Matt Murlick, among 65 individual golfers, and finished with an even-par, 74-71-71-216, for the tournament.

As a team, Seton Hall put forth a strong effort in the final round, but their deficit was too much to overcome. The Pirates posted the third-best final round score, a 6-over-par, 294, their best round of the tournament. The Hall finished fourth at 38-over-par with a 310-298-294-902. Georgetown won the team title at 20-over-par, just three strokes ahead of 2017 champion Marquette. DePaul finished third only two strokes ahead of the Pirates.

Tee Times:
No. 2 Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from No. 1 Marquette and No. 3 Georgetown for Friday's first round. Ramachandran will get the Pirates started at 9:40 a.m. off the first tee of the Dogwood Course. Tee times and pairings for rounds two and three will be determined by tournament results.

Results:
Complete results will be available after each round's completion at www.SHUpirates.com. Live scoring is available via Golfstat.com.